Caballo Blanco came on stage, he must be around 6'2". He's very lean with a clean bald head. I'm not sure how old he is but I would guess he's in his early 50's. Dressed in a pair of Saucony Hattori's
He has become famous (in certain circles) as a result of being a lead character in a book by Christopher McDougall 'Born to Run'. When a member of the audience asked him about the book and the impact it has had on his life he was very upbeat and made more than one reference to "...playing the cards you are dealt...". Another member of the audience made a comment that it was nice to meet him as the character in the book appeared fictional such was the way he was portrayed.
This was an evening with Caballo Blanco in Bristol. He's doing some talking dates around the UK to raise awareness and funds for his organisation Norawas de Raramuri that is in place to support the Tarahumara or, as they refer to themselves, the Raramuri.
He started out his talk with a statement about shoes. That he wasn't here to promote or sell shoes or to promote or sell not wearing shoes. At one point he said that people actually apologise to him for wearing shoes! Something he forgives readily. Interestingly he really wasn't promoting any shoes, when he was asked what he wears he said he has a couple of pairs of shoes depending on how he's feeling but never mentioned any brands or shoe models. This was towards the end of the talk and reinforced that this really was a guy not interested or aware of the commercial impact h could have. He did mention that he is working with a shoe manufacturer to develop a minimalist shoe something that I imagine will be like a huarache that the Raramuri wear.
There was then a video of the Copper Canyon Ultra Marathon from 2009 which was excellent.
Then he started talking,
.....his back story about being a kick boxer and making a living that way. This explained his "...gnarly toes...", that "..make babies cry, women faint and men cringe..." He later explained that he "...may have broken his toes against someone's face a couple of times...". Throughout he was reservedly animated, he didn't move much and sipped on his water throughout but his face was continually breaking out in smiles as he recalled his stories.
The story of the Leadville 100 where he met the Raramuri was brilliant and the Anna T (check) race where they called her the Bruha brought smiles all round. The audience knew the stories from the book but to hear them from Caballo Blanco really did feel like a treat. A quick glance around the theatre and everyone in the audience was attentive and smiling, transfixed by the Caballo.
He relaxed quickly and got into his flow. The only thing that seemed to raise his temperature a little was when he was referring to the Discovery Channel and the way that they portray the Raramuri as super-human because they don't really have cancer or heart disease which is due to their lifestyle. That may be the case but they do have high infant mortality with figures of 1/5 babies die-ing in birth being mentioned. How Caballo described them really struck a chord, he said that "...we should respect them but not idolise them...". They aren't super human they are just living how they always have done, we should respect that and learn from it but not patronise or interfere with them by idolising them.
He talked about doing the Leadville 100 and how running 100miles is like "...living a life in a day..." from birth all the way through to death although hopefully not literally.
He set up the Copper Canyon Ultra marathon so that the Raramuri could come and run in their own environment, to do what they have always done. Each year the number of Raramuri increases and there are more and more women also participating. Running in the huaraches that they make and long skirts and dresses. One year the ladies race was won by a 15year old Raramuri girl. The race is sponsored by Korima the Raramuri word for sharing that is at the heart of their culture. They share without the need or expectation f thanks, Caballo did say that you may have a hard time down in the Copper Canyon if you are "...attached to thank you.." they are grateful, sure, but sharing is what they do. They don't share to bang their chest and tell you what they did, they just do it.
With the talk over he started taking questions from the audience, he eats a predominantly vegetarian diet with lots of Pinole and whole grains although occasionally does eat barbeque chicken and fish. He likes beer, when asked how he recovers after a race he said "...put your feet up and drink a beer...". His favourite distance is 50miles. When a young man he used to clock up 170mile weeks.
When asked about gait he made a point that everyone is different and that even the Raramuri run different to each other. He did describe his gait as running tall, like there's a puppet string pulling your head to the sky, use a forefoot strike and a little forward so that gravity works with you. His running mantra, "...easy, light and smooth...". The way he described this this is how he achieves flow in his running or sometimes not. He starts easy, then light (Raramuri means light footed ones) and hopes to attain smooth. sometimes he gets there in minutes, sometime hours and sometimes not at all. I think all runners can understand that. We all seek flow when running, the realisation that you have covered a distance (whatever it may be) without really noticing.
There was plenty of inspiring stuff too - about how anyone can run 100miles if they train and put their mind to it. How if you do run 100miles that you know you can pretty much do anything. How we have all had some adversity to deal with and that he's no different to anyone else. If you have faith (in whatever it may be) you can pull through. When he talked about faith I got the impression he was talking about confidence. When you're out on a trail you have faith that you are trained enough to go where you want and get back. You are confident enough in your abilities.
He answered questions with the same enthusiasm that he had talked, thanking people for the questions and checking that he had answered it satisfactorily. You got the feeling that he would have continued for hours were it not for the promoter asking him to wind it up.
There was time for some photographs and autographs with nearly everyone having a copy of Born to Run for him to sign.
When I left I felt quite uplifted, inspired and motivated. Here was a guy who appeared to have found an idyllic simple life where he had very little and wanted for nothing. 
